Spec for Ableton 8

[jpulling]

Hi new to the forum.

This question has probably been asked a hundred times before, but i'm interested in some expert help please? I know you can look into the Spec on the side of the Ableton box, however I have installed Ableton on an older laptop that exceeded the minimum spec before and I kept getting clicks when playing only a few tracks so im thinking of upgrading to...

Sony Vaio
Intel Core i5-480M
320gb SATA (5400 rpm)
4gb Ram 1066 Mhz
Intel HD Graphics

Anyones views/ideas/comments will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

JP

[Delie]

That spec should run ableton 8 nicely

You might want to go for a 7200 rpm hard drive if you're doing a lot of stuff with samples, or an SSD if you can justify it, but it's not essential.

One thing to check though - do you have an external sound card? The performance of inbuilt sound cards is usually fairly mediocre, once you've got a few tracks.

[jpulling]

Thanks Delie

Any recommendations regarding the external sound card? I will be getting an external audio interface as well would you still recommend an external sound card? (Are they used seperately or same things?)

Thanks again

[Delie]

Hi jpulling,

Yes, an external sound card is an audio interface, so if you're getting an external audio interface already then you'll do fine

Cheers,

[jpulling]

Thanks

[Guff Tong]

- Just avoid anything by m-audio.

[jpulling]

A friend is recommending Numarks DJ IO Audio interface, he has used for a while and said its cheap & cheerful, would you recommend anything if not this?

[Guff Tong]

With a similarly small budget I've been tempted by the Focusrite Saffire USB (I've no firewire)

Did have the m-audio fast track pro but that bricked eventually and used to drop out at will when it did work.

[jpulling]

Cheers

I'm actually thinking of saving £50 and going for the 3gb RAM option, would anyone advise me against this?

I've tried reading up on the net, but im getting conflicting messages. Some are saying i probably will never exceed 3gb due to windows using 1gb and programs using 2gb. But i'm not sure on the Ableton consumption.

I'd only be using my laptop for general internet surfing, no video gaming, and for ableton use, probably to remix tracks and ocassionally may use it live to mix.

[smaucher]

- Just avoid anything by m-audio.

bullsh*t! M-Audio stuff works as nicely as any other well-known brand of that pricerange (Focusrite, Presonus, Roland etc).

[Guff Tong]

- Just avoid anything by m-audio.

bullsh*t! M-Audio stuff works as nicely as any other well-known brand of that pricerange (Focusrite, Presonus, Roland etc).

I've owned m-audio gear (fast track pro and evolution MK461) and have had bad experiences. Its just my user based opinion.

FTP: Major operational problems that m-audio had no concern over once the unit was out of warranty and the MK461: Very a poor build quality.

No offence intended.